


Joanith Drabbles

by xtremeroswellian



Category: Joan of Arcadia
Genre: Angels, Angst, BFFs, Babysitting, Canon Compliant, Childbirth, Crazy Camp, Friendship, Gen, Ghosts, Humor, Joanith, Mourning, Sex Talk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 18:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17412176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: A series of drabbles, mostly centering on the friendship between Joan and Judith. Tags will be updated as I add more.





	1. The Hours

The hours after Judith's death passed so slowly it felt to Joan Girardi as if time had actually stopped.

But as she lay in bed, watching the minutes slowly tick by on her clock, she realized it had not stopped. It had not even slowed down.

The world was already spinning on.

And for that, Joan was bitter. Maybe it was irrational but she felt like God should have at least stopped the clock from ticking--even if just for a few minutes. A few minutes in recognition of the painful, aching loss that she wondered if she'd ever truly recover from.

Days later, she wished for time to speed up. Warp-speed even. She wanted to speed up the grieving, get on with the healing, and forget as best she could about the loss she'd experienced. Wasn't time supposed to heal all wounds?

But the hours passed by as always: slow when you wanted them to fly by and quickly when you wanted time to stand still.

Being God's conduit didn't allow her any extra comfort or special benefits than anyone else had.

If anything, it was worse in some ways.

The world continued to spin, and everyone moved on.

But the hours stayed the same.


	2. Teammates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a silly little fic about games from "Crazy Camp."

"We are so gonna win."

Joan groaned a little at Judith's over-enthusiastic attitude. "Why are you so happy about this?"

"Because I like to win." She grinned, dropping down to sit beside her on the saggy bed.

"So do I, but this--"

"Jojo. Didn't you see the list?"

She laid back on the bed, flinging an arm over her eyes. "What list?"

"The competition list."

"No."

"We're up against Madison and Rachel."

She opened one eye and looked at Judith. "Seriously?"

"Cross my heart." She smirked.

Joan sat up slowly, a little more interested now. "What time?"

"T-minus fifty seven minutes."

"Tug of war, here we come."

Judith beamed. "We're gonna kick their asses."


	3. Adventures in Babysitting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joan calls her friend for help.

“You want me to WHAT?” Judith asked in disbelief as she stood in the doorway of the McKenzie’s house.

“Judith, please,” Joan pleaded, holding the infant out toward her. “I have to go check on Liam. He’s sick.”

“I don’t know anything about babies!” she protested.

“There’s nothing to know. Just hold him until I get back. That’s all you have to do. And his name is James.”

Regarding her uncertainly, Judith hesitantly took the wide-eyed baby from her best friend, raising her eyebrows. “Hi there, Kid.”

Snorting, Joan turned and disappeared down the hallway that now seemed endless as Judith watched her go.

Swallowing hard and still holding the tiny person uncertainly, she slowly made her way over to the sofa and sat down. She watched the boy blow bubbles from the corners of his mouth and smiled a little. “Okay so I guess you’re not so bad.”

The baby cooed and wrapped his tiny fingers around her index finger.

She chuckled softly and wiped his mouth with the blanket Joan had given her. “So James. Bet you have all the girls wrapped around your little finger.”

As if in agreement, he cooed again and smiled at her.

And then promptly threw up on her shirt.

Judith sat frozen in horror, making a face. “Oh my God. JoJo!”

Her raised voiced scared James, who then began to wail at the top of his lungs.

She grimaced, her stomach rolling at the smell of vomited milk. Joan so owed her for this one.

A moment later Joan returned. “What did you do?”

Judith scoffed. “I didn’t do anything. He yacked all over my shirt.”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s a baby.”

“Who pukes. I did not sign up for puke, JoJo.”

Sighing, Joan looked toward the hallway. “Fine. Just give him here.” She held her arms out.

Judith frowned, feeling guilty. “Just get me a clean shirt and a big towel to put between us.”

A smile tugged at Joan’s lips. “Deal.”

“Oh, and Joan?”

“Yeah?” She paused, turning to face her.

“I don’t change diapers.”


	4. Let's Talk About Sex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joan doesn't exactly mean to ask for advice, but Judith gives her some anyway.

"I think I'm ready to have sex with Adam."

If Joan Girardi had announced blue martians had landed in her backyard and one had proposed to her, Judith Montgomery wouldn't have been more surprised.

"Excuse me?"

Joan made a face. "You heard me."

"And...what exactly's changed since last week when you didn't think you'd be ready for a few more years?" She arched an eyebrow and looked at her over the cover of Vogue magazine.

"Well, I love him. And he loves me. And isn't that what people do?"

Frowning at the response, she set the magazine down on her bed. "Close the door, JoJo."

With a sigh, Joan did as instructed, then dropped into Judith's chair by her bed.

She was silent for a moment, studying her best friend intently. "Is Adam pressuring you?"

"No," she said a bit defensively. "But I know he's ready to take that next step."

"But you're not."

"I am. I think."

"JoJo, 'I think' isn't good enough. This is a big deal. A really big deal." Judith's eyes were worried.

"Was it a big deal for you?" Joan retorted.

She flinched a little and looked down at her bedspread. "No. But it should've been."

Joan looked down, too. "Sorry. That was--"

"No. You're fine." She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "I wanted to be one of the cool kids and I convinced myself that sex was no big deal. It didn't make me any cooler." She managed a faint, wry smile. "In fact the next day the guy I slept with spread it all over the school and I was suddenly the school slut."

Joan cringed. "Adam would never do that."

"No. Adam wouldn't. But a lot of guys would. And that's not the only thing that can go wrong."

"You're talking about..."

"Pregnancy." She gazed at her friend. "Are you on the pill?"

"No." She folded her arms across her chest.

"Even if he wears a condom, it's not 100%, JoJo."

She groaned. "Judith, I know that. We had health together, remember?"

"So worst case scenario: you get pregnant. Then what? What are you gonna do? How are you gonna tell your parents?"

"I haven't even slept with him, yet."

"I know that. But you need to consider all the possibilities." She leaned back against her headboard. "So what would you do?"

Joan groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I don't know," she admitted.

"And what about STD's?" Judith pressed.

"Judith, Adam doesn't have an STD."

"You asked him?"

"Of course not!"

"Well, it's better to be safe than sorry."

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you."

She smiled a bit. "You know what they say, if you're not ready to talk about it--"

"You're not ready to do it," Joan finished.

Judith gazed at her. "You only get one first time, JoJo." Her voice was soft. "And if you're not ready..."

Joan was silent for a moment. "Thanks, Judith," she whispered.

"What are best friends for?"


	5. Crocuses and Tulips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Without hope, what is there?

The winter came and went in Arcadia but few felt its bitter cold as deeply as Joan Girardi, who stumbled through meaningless (well, meaningless to her anyway) things like class and work. Then there were the tasks from God, which brought light into her otherwise darkened world, but which always faded in the dark of night.

The world moved on, and would do so with or without her and some days she truly didn’t see the point, despite the vague conversations with the Almighty about a larger purpose, about seeing outside herself.

She could do that well enough sometimes. She saw the effects her tasks had on others, how drastically it changed things, how far reaching the ripples were. But somehow it still didn’t ease the ache in her heart she’d had since Mid-November, the one she was sure she was never going to lose. The one part of her wasn’t sure she wanted to lose because losing that ache would be the end.

Sometimes she was sure she was the only one who remembered. Oh, they all remembered from time to time, but no one felt it like she did. No one else had known the things that she had known, no one else had seen Judith the way Joan had.

They had all seen her defiance of course, the rebellious side of the girl, but she was the only one who ever truly saw the softer side, with the exception of Adam who had been blessed to see it but once.

She had seen Judith’s sadness and pain and vulnerability and hope. When they’d met Joan hadn’t had hope left for herself, let alone to share, and when she’d needed it most, Judith had let her borrow some of her own--the hope no one else even realized she had because the girl had buried it so far down inside her.

Without hope, what is there?

Despair.

And despite how lost Joan had been, Judith had helped her move past the despair and back into the realm of hope and she’d regained a sense of self that she’d once feared gone forever. And now Judith was gone, and another part of Joan had disappeared with her. One that she knew for certain she could never get back, because Judith was dead and she wasn’t coming back.

The winter seemed to go on forever, and Joan’s growing sense of despair continued with every fallen snowflake as she dwelled on how Judith would never see another snowfall or fall in love or have kids or be at Joan’s wedding. Without a doubt, Judith would have been her maid of honor, would have stood at her side as she had done all along, would have cried joyfully as Joan took her vows.

Sometimes when Joan thought about it she decided she never wanted to get married, or have children or anything that she’d ever dreamt of Judith being a part of because it hurt so much that sometimes she wished she would have died that night with Judith. And there was nothing around anywhere, no proof of Judith, of her best friend. Nothing that in a year someone could see, look at, touch, that would make them think solely of the once-vibrant albeit self-destructive girl.

The first day of Spring it rained, and the second there was still a hint of winter chill in the breeze, but on the third day, there was sunshine and Joan wandered outside the school during lunch hour, not in the mood to talk to any of her other friends. Despite the fact she loved them all dearly, none of them were Judith, nor could they be, because there was only one Judith Montgomery and she was gone. And with her, Joanith had disappeared.

She found herself sitting on the new bleachers that they had built at the end of fall, staring blankly into space, until a soft voice interrupted her thoughts.

It was the one she’d dubbed as the Slacker and she looked up at him silently, her eyes hurt and accusing. Most of the time she didn’t actually blame Him for Judith’s death, but other days were hard and everyone in sight was to blame, and God was certainly no exception.

“She left things behind, Joan,” he told her softly, his baggy pants hanging loosely on his hips.

“Yeah. Pain,” she said dully. “Broken hearts.”

He smiled, and it was gentle and somehow calming to her nerves despite her lingering depression. “No. She planted seeds of hope everywhere. You’re just not looking in the right places.” His voice was soft and he turned and headed away without giving her a chance to respond, waving over his shoulder.

Joan stared after him for a long time before letting out a breath and slowly rising to her feet, cursing under her breath as she dropped her bracelet beneath the bleachers. Wearily, she made her way down to the ground and headed to the back of the bleachers, ducking to avoid hitting her head as she glanced around for the slim bit of silver that her parents had given her on Christmas.

Her gaze fell upon a patch of small, but already blooming flowers and the breath caught in her throat as her mind flashed back to months ago, to the garden she’d planted in that very spot that had later been bulldozed.

“She was planting crocuses and tulips. And it doesn’t matter if the ground gets bulldozed because they’ll still come up in the Spring. She knew that,” He had told her.

Tears prickled at her eyes and she slowly knelt down to get a closer look at the small buds. They needed water, she realized. He had been right. What Judith had planted in the ground was growing.

And so was the hope.


	6. Angels Among Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's always around.

When Joan went to the hospital to deliver her first baby, she saw Judith for the first time in years. Adam was away at an art conference out of state, and likely wouldn’t make it back to witness the birth of their daughter, which made her sad, but having Judith there helped.

The last time Joanith had been together had been at Joan and Adam’s wedding nearly five years before. Judith had stood at the back of the wedding chapel for the ceremony but hadn’t shown up for the wedding reception. Or if she had, Joan hadn’t seen her.

It was enough to know that her best friend had attended her wedding.

And now, as Joan lay on the birthing bed, terrified and in more pain than she’d ever been in, Judith moved from the doorway to Joan’s bedside.

“Remember to breathe, JoJo.” She smoothed a hand over Joan’s forehead and hair, her touch light and gentle.

Joan sucked in a breath and let it out slowly as Judith had advised, recalling that her lamaze coach telling her the same thing. As the contraction finally passed, she looked at her friend. “Long time, no see,” she panted.

Judith smiled. “You know I’m always around when you need me.”

Joan smiled faintly, wincing as another contraction hit. “Are they supposed to be this close together?”

“I think that just means she’s going to be here soon.” Judith reached down and gripped her hand. “Have you decided on a name yet?”

“Adam wants to name her Lillian.”

“Lillian’s a nice name,” one of the nurses commented.

“Personally I think the name Judith is good,” she replied with a smirk.

Joan would have chuckled if she hadn’t felt like her body was being split in half.

“It’s time, Mrs. Rove,” the doctor said, looking at her. “I need you to push.”

Joan gritted her teeth, squeezing Judith’s hand hard, and screaming as she followed the instructions the doctor had given her.

Moments later, she heard her daughter cry for the first time and tears stung her eyes.

Judith’s eyes sparkled with tears as well. “JoJo, she’s beautiful,” she whispered.

The doctor placed the infant in Joan’s arms and she cradled her close, counting her fingers and toes. Judith was right: she was beautiful, and perfect in every way.

Judith leaned down and kissed the baby’s forehead, then Joan’s.

Joan looked at her. “You’re going?”

“I can’t stay. But I’ll be around. I’m always around.” Judith smiled faintly and vanished as she headed for the door.

Joan watched her go, then turned her attention back to her tiny daughter.

“Would you like for us to wait to put a name on the birth certificate, Mrs. Rove?” the nurse asked.

“No, I have a name.” Joan smiled, placing a soft kiss against her daughter’s forehead. “Judith Lillian Rove.”


	7. Feels Like Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's finally home.

The day that Joan Girardi woke up dead, everything around her was bright, bathed in golden light. It was warm, but not unpleasantly so. Nothing was familiar as she slowly stood up in the field of yellow flowers. Until she spotted a familiar figure yards away running toward her.

“Sunshine?” she whispered, shocked.

The golden retriever bounded toward her, barking excitedly.

Tears stung her eyes as she dropped to her knees, hugging her beloved childhood pet.

“Welcome home, Joan,” a familiar voice said and she looked over to see the first incarnation of God she’d ever met. The one she referred to as “Cute Boy God.”

Instead of the familiar spark of irritation she usually felt, a warm smile touched her face. “So this is heaven?”

“Your version.” He smiled at her.

“Wait…you mean heaven’s not the same for everyone?”

“Heaven’s what you want it to be.” Nodding a little, He turned to see another familiar figure across the distance.

The breath caught in Joan’s throat. “Is that—”

“It is your heaven, Joan.” His voice was gentle and he smiled warmly at her. “I’ll be around.” Without giving her a chance to respond, He vanished.

Joan rose to full height, Sunshine at her heels. She petted her head absently.

“Finally! You really know how to make an entrance, JoJo.”

“Judith,” she whispered, tears stinging her eyes as she closed the distance between them and hugged her tightly.

“Who else?” Judith grinned and hugged her back. “Joanith reunited. Who ever thought I’d make it up here?”

“I did,” Joan murmured, smiling.

“Well yeah. You were the instrument of the all knowing one.”

Joan pulled away to look at her, surprised that she looked exactly the same as she had when she was well, before she died. Looking down at herself, she realized she was also in clothes she hadn’t worn since high school.

“Yeah, you get to choose your appearance up here.” Judith smirked. “And your hair is always perfect, And your clothes always match as long as you want them to.”

She laughed and hugged her friend again. “I’ve missed you.”

“Well, you don’t have to miss me anymore. Joanith can live forever.” Grinning, she hooked her arm with Joan’s. “Come on. I’ll give you the tour.”

Joan smiled, feeling content and at peace for the first time ever.

She was finally home.


End file.
